Inmate To Face Court In Plan To Kill Woman

January 09, 1991|by KRISTIN CASLER, The Morning Call

A Lehigh County Prison inmate planned to break the neck of an elderly Allentown woman after he forced her to withdraw $5,000 to $10,000 from each of five bank branches, testimony and a taped conversation revealed yesterday.

The inmate, Robert Carotenuto, had an elaborate scheme to kidnap Virginia Long, drive her around at knife point and have her withdraw money from her bank accounts when he was released Nov. 21, police said at Carotenuto's preliminary hearing yesterday. He then planned to murder her, police said.

"He threatened to kill her, twist her ... head all the way around and crush her esophagus," said Assistant District Attorney Richard Reynolds, paraphrasing from a taped transcript played in court.

After police testimony and three taped conversations were played, District Justice Joseph Maura ordered Carotenuto to stand trial on attempted homicide and other charges. He remained in Lehigh County Prison under $150,000 bail.

A fellow inmate alerted police to the plot and even helped Carotenuto make plans.

Police foiled the plot by following Carotenuto during the 26 minutes from his prison release to his arrival at Long's door. Members of the city Emergency Response Team surprised and arrested him inside the home.

Detective Sgt. Dean Schwartz testified that police received information about the kidnap plan Nov. 13 from inmate Stanley Flak, a former part-time bookkeeper for John and Virginia Long's Protective Coating Co. before being arrested on forgery charges.

Carotenuto did not know the Longs, but devised the elaborate plan while in the prison's Salisbury Annex pending several forgery and bad check charges, Schwartz said.

Schwartz said Carotenuto wanted Flak, who was out on bail by then and working with police, to pick him up when he was released. As requested by Carotenuto, when Flak picked him up, he provided Carotenuto with surgical gloves, sunglasses and a cap. Flak also had drawn a rough, penciled diagram of the inside of the Longs' home and a map of the route to the Meridian Bank branches with drive-through windows marked with X's.

The pair drove to the Longs' Cape Cod home at 1341 VanBuren St., where they determined that only Virginia would be home because her husband's station wagon was gone.

During the drive, Flak was wired with a pocket tape recorder, and the vehicle carried a recorder and a transmitter that was monitored by undercover police who were tailing them.

On the muffled tape yesterday, Carotenuto and Flak went over the plan. Carotenuto was miffed that Flak did not bring him the requested knife. (Schwartz said police wouldn't put it in the bag for safety reasons.)

Carotenuto would have to use one of the "old lady's" knives to make her cooperate, the men agreed on the tape.

When Carotenuto had the money he wanted, he planned to kill Mrs. Long. On the tape, Carotenuto described how he would twist her head all the way around until she was facing the other way. He made it clear to Flak that she would not survive.

The plan was for Carotenuto to pay Flak $3,000 for his help, then buy a car and disappear separately, Schwartz said. The original scheme called for leaving Mrs. Long's body in her van at a Lehigh Valley Mall restaurant, but that changed to the two men having a rendezvous at the Allentown Fairgrounds, where the plot would end.

When Carotenuto arrived at the VanBuren Street house, the Longs had already left for their mountain cabin. He knocked twice, then entered the unlocked front door, Detective Sgt. Joseph Stauffer said.

"He said hello twice," Stauffer said, then headed for the kitchen.

Stauffer stopped him and ordered him to the ground. Carotenuto was wearing the items from the bag that Flak had given him. The maps were in his pocket, Stauffer said.

Carotenuto's attorney, Charles Sieger, argued that his client never committed a robbery and had no opportunity to attempt to commit the other crimes he is charged with.

"This case is all talk," Sieger said.

But Reynolds countered, "What am I supposed to do, let this clown go in there and kill her, then charge him with homicide?"